This invention generally relates to beverage brewing apparatus for brewing a freshly brewed beverage and more particularly a beverage ingredient filter assembly and method of making the same.
In known beverage ingredient filter assemblies used in commercial brewers, the beverage ingredient is held within a truncated conical filter paper which, in turn, is held within and supported within a filter holder. The filter holder, in turn, is removably mounted within a brew basket mounted for movement between a brew position beneath a beverage dispense opening, and an unloading/loading position spaced from the dispenser opening for removal and insertion of the filter holder.
As described in the parent application of which this is a continuation-in-part application, the shape of the filter holder and the manner in which the hot water is passed through the beverage ingredient within the filter results in uneven saturation of the ingredient. This problem is overcome in part by holding the ingredient in a uniform layer, preferably in a cylindrical shape.
In the case of nondisposable artificial filters made of gold mesh and the like, small particles of the beverage pass through the filter and enter into the beverage. There are some indications that consumption of particulate coffee grounds can contribute to the possibility of a person contracting cancer.
While known beverage ingredient paper filters stop such particle from entering the beverage, the inventor has determined that they fail to provide for a uniform flow of hot water through a uniform level of ingredient. This is due in part to the truncated conical shape of then known filter papers. The inventor has also determined that uniform saturation would not be possible even if the shape were corrected because of uniform filtering capacity throughout the entire paper coffee filter.
It is therefore the principal objective of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the known beverage ingredient filters, filter assemblies and methods of brewing to provide a method of making a filter of the present invention.
It is therefore the principle object of the invention to provide a beverage ingredient filter having a relatively inwardly located, filtering inner section of beverage ingredient filter paper made of water permeable filter paper and a relatively outwardly located, water impervious and nonfiltering outer section of beverage ingredient filter paper continuously joined to and surrounding the inner filtering section of beverage ingredient filter paper.
The object is also achieved by provision of a filter holder with a generally flat, generally open bottom and at least one side wall extending from the flat bottom in a general direction perpendicular to the flat bottom, a filter having an inner section and an outer section, with the inner section made of water permeable filter material resting on the flat bottom, and the outer section made of nonfiltering, water impermeable material continuously joined to the inner section and being supported by the at least one side wall in an upright position perpendicular to the flat bottom.
Further, obtainment of the object is achieved by providing a beverage ingredient filter having an inner section of water permeable filter paper, an outer section made of water impermeable material surrounding the inner section and means for attaching the inner section continuously to the outer section.
The object is also achieved in part by providing a method of making a beverage ingredient filter, including the steps of forming from water permeable paper filter stock a piece of filter sized paper having an inner section surrounded by an outer section and treating the outer portion to render the outer portion water impermeable.
Still another object is achieved by providing a method of making a beverage ingredient filter, including the steps of joining an inner section of water permeable material to an outer section made of water impermeable material surrounding the inner section and folding the outer section to form a generally cylindrical shape with the inner section defining a round bottom.
In accordance with the beverage brewing method of the present invention a beverage ingredient is brewed by placing the ingredient into a disposable, flexible, composite filter having an inner, filtering, bottom section and an outer nonfiltering water impervious wall section joined to and extending in a direction that is generally perpendicular to the filtering bottom section, removably mounting the disposable, flexible filter within a filter holder having a porous bottom to enable the passage of beverage, and a side extending from the bottom and in a direction that is generally perpendicular to the porous bottom, passing hot water onto the ingredient while located within the filter when the filter is being supportively held within the filter holder to brew the ingredient to make the brewed beverage, and dispensing the beverage through the inner, filtering, bottom section.
Preferably, after the brewing cycle is completed the filter with the ingredient is removed from the holder after the brewing is completed and are disposed of together. In the case of the side of the filter holder being porous, passage of brewed beverage through the porous side of the filter holder is prevented by the nonporous side of the filter. The ingredient is arranged in a uniform layer across the bottom section of the filter before the start of the brew cycle to facilitate uniform saturation of all the ingredient.